


Connecting Again

by AweAmi543



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Percico - Freeform, adorable boys, bro jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-05 04:38:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11570484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AweAmi543/pseuds/AweAmi543
Summary: And Percy decided right then and there, that he would stop being afraid or scared, or whatever the hell was stopping him from being with the boy he liked.So they kissed, and their mouths fit perfectly, and maybe (just maybe) he was going to get his “happy ever after.”





	Connecting Again

**Author's Note:**

> AU where Solangelo never happened. Also first fic on Ao3! Enjoy!

**I.**

Percy sat outside his and Annabeth’s apartment in New Rome. He felt the familiar stinging of tears in his eyes. This was supposed to be their “happy ever after,” but it somehow still screwed itself up.

He looked up at the sunset, noticing the way the yellow faded into orange and that drowned into the slightest bit of red. Why did it have to be like this? He heard the door creak open, but didn’t turn his head to see her. Annabeth found someone else. She found someone who she loved more than Percy, and she told him that. The son of Poseidon understood; he hadn’t been a good boyfriend to her the past few years, and she deserved better. Despite that fact, Percy was still very hurt.

“I’m sorry it had to end like this,” Annabeth croaked, her voice dry from crying.

“Me too.”

She slumped herself next to him, and Percy got a clear view of her. Her curly blond hair was tied up into a messy ponytail and her gray eyes were red rimmed from crying. She was wearing a camp Jupiter sweatshirt with a pair of skinny jeans. And Percy just couldn’t help about thinking how important she was to him. He couldn’t lose her; he wouldn’t be able to function. Annabeth owned him.

“Annabeth,” he said, shakily.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I know.”

I can’t lose you, he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her what would happen if she left him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He only ever wanted her to be happy. For a while, the sparkle in her eye was dead, and if there was someone else who could return that, then he wanted Annabeth to go to them. And that was exactly how he knew he loved her.

He bit his lip, “I-I”m going to miss you.”

Annabeth wrung her hands together and sighed.

Tears filled her eyes, but she managed a sad chuckle. “Seaweed Brain,” she said, sniffling, “I’m not leaving you forever. I still want to be your friend.”

And Percy pondered for a moment. Could they be friends after this? Would he still be in love with her forever?

She cleared her throat, “But it wouldn’t be like it used to,” she wiped her eyes, “we wouldn’t-we won’t-”

“Get over this,” he cut in.

“I-yeah…”

“I still love you, but as long as you’re happy, it’s okay.”

She hugged him tightly and cried into his chest. Percy felt numb from all the pain.

“Reyna’s a lucky girl,” he said.

Annabeth sobbed harder.

 

_He wouldn’t ever recover from this._

 

**II.**

Percy was staying at Jason and Piper’s place until he could find his own place. As soon as Jason heard the two broke up, he ran over to Percy and offered him a place to stay. Piper was so kind about the entire situation, and they all just became closer. The green-eyed boy had just returned from searching for apartments, when he overheard two voices.

“Did you hear?” Asked a voice that sounded like Jason.

“I don’t want to think about it. I don’t...Jace...I can’t get my hopes up.”

And that voice, Percy knew that voice. He missed hearing that voice. He hadn’t heard it in a very long time, and he was definitely excited to hear it once again. He didn’t care what they were talking about. He walked into the room to see Jason face-to-face with the one and only Nico di Angelo. He had his signature aviator jacket on, and he was twirling his silver skull ring with his fingers. His hair had gotten longer, but not too long. And he decided in that moment that he wanted to greet the son of Hades properly, because he kind of missed the guy, dare he say it.

Before Nico left, he and Percy had been inseparable, but then Percy moved in with Annabeth and he was gone. Just like that.

“Nico!” He exclaimed, grinning.

“Percy,” he said, with an unreadable expression.

“I didn’t know you were visiting.”

Nico shrugged. And now that Percy was closer to him, he allowed himself to make a few more observations. He looked relatively the same - skinny to the bone, wearing all black, with his stygian iron sword on him - but he had a few new scars.

“Actually, I’m staying for a while,” he said.

Jason looked shocked but didn’t say anything.

“What have you been up to?”

Nico ran a hand through his hair, “Just stuff for my dad.”

Percy made sure to touch Nico’s shoulder lightly, as the boy didn’t like physical contact.

“I’m happy to have you back,” he said, because he honestly was.

Nico inhaled sharply, “I think I am too. Happy.”

 

**III.**

Nico and Percy slowly fell back into their usual groove after a few months. They would stop by the small coffee shop that Piper worked at, and split a chocolate muffin. Afterwards, they would spar together, and see who won. Then they would eat dinner, tell each other goodnight, and go to sleep. In the meanwhile, Percy had found an apartment (which Nico would stay over at times).

And Percy couldn’t say he stopped loving Annabeth. Four months after they broke up...he still loved her. He would see her every now and then with Reyna, and it broke his heart. It stung to see her with someone else. The only person he ever told this to was Nico, and he had been oddly empathetic about the situation. But he would occasionally close up and try to distance himself from the green-eyed boy, and Percy found that confusing. Percy was walking over to Nico’s apartment to watch a few movies and maybe stay the night.

He opened the door, not even thinking twice to knock, and saw Nico. But it wasn’t only Nico.

It was Nico with a boy.

His lips were cherry-red, as if he had just been kissed, and his pupils were dilated with lust. Something uncomfortable twinged inside him. Something like...no. He didn’t need to think about that now.

Needless to say, Percy did the intelligent thing. “Holy fucking shit,” he muttered.

Nico’s eyes widened as he pushed the boy away from him, quickly whispering something. The poor guy scampered off. Nico rapidly paced his apartment, seemingly unable to control his breathing. He shut his eyes and bit his previously-kissed lips.

“You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“I know,” said Percy, because what else could he say?

“So you like guys?”

Nico sighed, “Yes.”

“You don’t like girls?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Why didn’t Nico tell him? Did Jason know? Was he the only one that didn’t know? So many questions burned in Percy’s mind. His stomach churned with jealousy. Nico was supposed to be his best friend, and he didn’t think to let Percy know that he liked boys?

“I...before I left…” He trailed off.

Percy tried to smile reassuringly, “It’s okay, Nico. You can tell me anything.”

Said boy inhaled deeply, “Perce, I wasn’t in a good place.”

“What was going on?”

“I can’t expect you to-”

Nico,” said Percy, “I want to help you.”

He crossed his arms, “I’m-I’m not your charity case.”

“Never said you were. I just want to help you.”

Nico hesitantly reached for the sleeves of his shirt. His hand lay there for a while, before pulling the sleeves up to reveal numerous cuts. They were all scars by now, and it was clear as day that Nico had been through a lot more pain than Percy knew.

“Nico, why,” he whispered worriedly.

“I…”

Percy waited for him to continue.

“I don’t want you to...I didn’t want to do this to myself,” he said brokenly, “it’s the only thing I...had control of. You...you’re the only person I’ve ever told.” 

And that made Percy feel, for the first time since the breakup, that he had a purpose. That he meant something to someone. He felt happy that the son of Hades was opening up to him, but also saddened at the fact that Nico felt he had to do this to himself. But they were all scars, and not fresh cuts, and that’s what made Percy so proud. He was proud that Nico fought off his own demons.

 

_Because, little did Nico know, he helped Percy fight his own demons as well._

 

**IV.**

The summer was coming to an end, and Percy was doing everything he possibly could with Nico. Swimming, sightseeing, eating, sleeping; they’ve done it all. But there was one thing they didn’t do. And it was the most random freaking thing to ever come out of Nico’s mouth.

“Wanna build a treehouse?”

And Percy just stared at Nico with his mouth wide open because Nico never wanted to do anything except for lay in bed.

“Why?”

Nico sighed, “I never got to build a treehouse.”

And Percy couldn’t let Nico not build a treehouse, “Why not?”

“Can we get McDonalds?”

And Percy just nodded his head, laughing. And Nico grinned like he was the happiest person on Earth.

***

Building a treehouse was harder than he thought it was, but Percy managed. Nico would just stare at the instruction manual, complaining that he couldn’t understand a single thing. And honestly, neither did Percy. But it was fine, because they had each other. Once it was finished they climbed up into the treehouse and just sat there smiling in content.

 

**V.**

It was fair for Percy to say that he didn’t know how Nico di Angelo operated. He was a mystery built into a person, and the son of Poseidon knew he would never be able to completely solve the mystery (but he would try anyways).

Some nights they would all gather at Jason’s place, and Piper would leave for a girls night. They would just eat and watch movies and Percy never had to think.

He was laying down on the couch facing the opposite side of the other two boys, when he heard Jason quietly say something to Nico.

“Are you okay?”

They must’ve thought he was asleep.

There was a shuffling of sorts, and Nico sighed, “I still like him.”

Who did Nico like? And why did Jason know? Percy, for some reason, wanted to be a more important person than Jason in Nico’s life. Why did he feel this way? He couldn’t for the life of himself-

“Nico…”

“I know,” whispered Nico raspily, “I know.”

And it occurred to Percy that this guy Nico liked was important enough to bring out the vulnerable side of him. The side that would usually never see the light of day. And he didn’t fully understand why, but he found himself slightly jealous of this boy. He shuffled a bit on the couch, in an attempt not to hear anymore.

Their voices silenced. “Good night,” whispered Jason to Nico.

“Good night.”

And Percy just smirked and said, “Good night.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“What the fuck?”

 

**VI.**

Percy was scared. Whenever he saw Annabeth, he no longer felt sad, or hurt, or depressed. He felt indifferent.

And that’s what scared him. With the daughter of Athena, there was a certain familiarity. And to lose that...he felt like a kid who got his favorite childhood item snatched away from them. He felt scared. After the incident at Nico’s apartment, the son of Hades stopped distancing himself from Percy. They practiced the same routine every day, and maybe they would change it up a bit. Maybe they would get a blueberry muffin instead of a chocolate one, or maybe instead of sparring, they would visit the temples.

And Percy would think about things that “straight guys” weren’t supposed to think about. He would wonder what it would feel like if he were the boy Nico was kissing. He would think about how Nico soft, red lips would feel against his. And that scared him, so he pushed those thoughts down. It was the Camp Jupiter Halloween Party. Nico occasionally talked to Jason and Piper, and he would stop by to threaten (and glare at) Frank every now and then, but he mainly stuck to Percy.

Nico was wearing a red tuxedo with a pair of devil horns stuck to his head as his stupid idea of a joke. He told Percy, ‘I’m the son of Hades, get it?’ And Percy just laughed and rolled his eyes, because that’s just what he did. Every now and then, Nico would flash him a devilish (see what he did there?) smile and Percy’s heart would soar with endorphins.

But then it would be tugged back down by fear. He was never repulsed by the idea of him liking Nico, or him liking a guy.

He was just so scared, so afraid of loving again, that he wanted to save himself from getting hurt.

And on top of everything, the chance that Nico would even like him back was...low.

“What are you thinking about?” Asked Nico.

“You,” he blurted out.

“What about me?”

“That I might like you,” he said, because why not? It’s not like Nico would-

“This better not be a joke, Jackson,” he hissed.

“Why?”

Nico responded by crashing his lips into Percy’s.

And things just felt _right_. And Percy decided right then and there, that he would stop being afraid or scared, or whatever the hell was stopping him from being with the boy he liked.

 

So they kissed, and their mouths fit perfectly, and maybe (just maybe) he was going to get his “happy ever after.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you liked it! :) Have a nice day!


End file.
